I’m a little late to the party, debuting my personal 2025 NHL Draft rankings following the U18 worlds — albeit just in time for tonight’s lottery, where non-playoff teams will hope to get lucky ahead of selecting these top prospects in June.

Full disclosure, my focus was almost solely on the WHL this year — scouting for The Pro Hockey Group under Jason Bukala as a great opportunity to work alongside the former Florida Panthers’ director of amateur scouting who previously broke into the NHL with the Nashville Predators — so I’ve been playing catch-up on the rest of the class in recent weeks since my local club, the Kelowna Rockets, missed the playoffs.

With more time on my hands, I’ve been able to broaden my horizons again and utilize the tools available to us, including RinkNet and SportContract, while also keeping tabs on the WHL playoffs through the impressive Victory+ streaming service that has been free for fans — definitely tune in for that Medicine Hat-Spokane final starting Friday, you won’t be disappointed!

In years past, I’ve been more of an at-large scout from start to finish and have ranked as many as 500 prospects and often the full seven rounds (224). That won’t be the case this year, limiting my initial offering to only two rounds with the Top 64 as of now. I might expand to a Top 100 following the Memorial Cup and the draft combine, but this is my current comfort level and may have to stand the test of time.

I know Schaefer barely played this season but he looked like a gamebreaker when he was in the lineup — projecting as a potential No. 1 defenseman in the NHL. He can also play the right side and be a beast in all situations. A very valuable asset, providing he can stay healthy going forward.

Misa had a monster draft year to thrust himself into the first overall conversation. He lived up to his exceptional status in the OHL but isn’t as dynamic as Connor Bedard or Gavin McKenna. More of a poor man’s Macklin Celebrini, but Celebrini’s rookie success also helps Misa’s stock with some of their similarities as two-way centres.

Hagens’ stock trended down, having entered this draft year as the consensus top prospect for 2025. But he still had shining moments during the World Juniors and projects as a point-producing top-six forward. Arguably still the most skilled forward in this class, so he shouldn’t fall far.

Frondell, Desnoyers and Martone are also high-end forward prospects who will be competing to crack the Top 5 in this year’s draft. Frondell may have more talent but Desnoyers is as driven as they come and Martone has the size that can’t be taught. Think James van Riemsdyk for Martone and Patrice Bergeron for Desnoyers. Frondell is another promising two-way Swede like Leo Carlsson. All three have relatively high floors to be middle-six NHLers.

That next tier, from 7-18, will be really interesting to follow on Draft Day and beyond as they develop towards the pro ranks. Martin and Aitcheson are physically mature, men among boys. Same with Spence. McQueen has battled injuries but also fits that bill. Mrtka and Lakovic are massive too but still raw and growing into their frames. Smith is smooth for his size, very projectable as a second-pairing stalwart. Then there are a handful of forwards — Reschny, Eklund, O’Brien, Cootes and Bear — who are average sized with varying skill-sets that suggest middle-six upside.

My 19-37 tier are all first-round contenders, led by my top goaltender in Jack Ivankovic — he isn’t the biggest but Dustin Wolf contending for the Calder should help his cause and Ivankovic’s resume speaks for itself to date, culminating with a shutout for U18 gold.

Boumedienne and Fiddler also bolstered their stock at that showcase, while Brzustewicz is still going strong with London in the OHL final. Hensler has been a household name among American defenders ahead of Trethewey and the emerging Schock, with Reid as another Canadian candidate for the first round.

That tier also features 10 forwards, some smaller but more electrifying and others bigger but less thrilling. A few could slip to the second round over size concerns but become steals if they continue to boom as opposed to bust.

And the big netminder Ravensbergen is still rounding out my first round despite a less-than-stellar draft year, ending in a first-round playoff exit with a sub-.900 save percentage. Yes, I would advocate for Ivankovic over Ravensbergen as of today — even though Ravensbergen’s size is enticing, I prefer Ivankovic’s results and consistency.

Last but not necessarily least, my 38-64 tier has plenty of intriguing prospects — ranging from little forwards to towering defenders to later-blooming overagers and some more workhorses.

Ekberg, Mooney and Katzin left lasting impressions at the U18s but the tape measure won’t be kind to them at the combine. They are small but supremely skilled. Mooney might be the closest we’ve seen to a second coming of Johnny Gaudreau (RIP).

Pradel improved his stock in backstopping Slovakia, solidifying himself as my third-ranked goaltender. And remember the name Frantisek Poletin for 2026, with the Czechia netminder nearly knocking off Canada in the quarterfinals.

I’m a big Pickford fan — I had him ranked last year when he was still with Seattle before blowing up thanks to a trade to powerhouse Medicine Hat — with Park and Epperson also proving their worth after getting passed over last year.

That final tier is forward heavy for my rankings — 21 forwards, 5 defensemen and 1 goaltender — but the actual draft could see more defenders selected, perhaps even more goalies if teams take a liking to this year’s Russians.

Overall, the 2025 class is underwhelming without a surefire franchise player at the top — somewhat similar to 2022, when Shane Wright lost his pole position like Hagens, but 2025 has a more distinct drop-off outside the Top 20.

That could result in more overagers than usual or more reaches for seemingly random prospects with specific traits that teams are targeting for the future. But there will be no shortage of suspense this year, starting at first overall!